India's first coronavirus patient tested negative

The first coronavirus affected patient of India undergoing treatment at Thrissur Medical College has been tested negative, the hospital administration said on Wednesday. The medical board of the College is slated to meet on Thursday to decide on matters pertaining to Coronavirus and will also consider the discharge of the patient.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja held a high-level meeting at Thrissur Medical College on January 31 after one positive case of coronavirus was detected in the state. She had said that the patient who tested positive for coronavirus is stable. "The patient who had returned from China's Wuhan and had tested positive for coronavirus is stable. She may be shifted to Thrissur Medical College from Thrissur general hospital today," Shailaja had said.

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Two special flights for evacuation

In a coordinated operation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, two Special Air India flights were operated between Delhi and Wuhan on January 31 and February 1. The two flights airlifted a total of 654 passengers that included 647 Indian citizens including two Indian Embassy officials who were on the ground in Wuhan to coordinate the evacuation operation, and 7 Maldivian nationals.

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Death toll rises in Mainland China

The death toll for the novel Coronavirus hit 2,004 in mainland China. As per the Chinese state health committee, the number of confirmed cases has gone up by 74,185. According to the National Health Commission, 1,749 new cases of novel coronavirus infection have been confirmed.

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across 20 countries since December 2019. About 1,701 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, a total of 12,552 coronavirus patients have by now been discharged from hospitals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dubbed the virus as COVID-19. 

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(with ANI inputs)